Even as 704 buses remained off the road with services from 18 depots being affected on Sunday as private workers of wet lease BEST buses continued with their strike, 398 buses were operated by the transport body’s own workers. According to an official from the BEST Public Relations Office, transport body has 1,637 wet lease buses, while it owns 1,487 buses. On Sunday, of the remaining 933 wet lease buses that were available, 398 buses were operated by BEST workers to ensure the commuters are not largely inconvenienced, the official added. The contract workers’ strike began on August 2. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) is also providing 150 buses to the BEST at six depots to maintain its services. The workers of private wet lease bus contractors have been demanding a hike in salary, which will be equal to what is being paid to the BEST internal drivers and conductors respectively along with other benefits such as medical insurance and Diwali bonus.
